Zoe
by FindMeBroken
Summary: One knock on Brooke Davis’ door will change the lives of many Tree Hill residents. Someone from all of their pasts has come to town, and she has secrets.
1. Chapter 1

_10-year-old Brooke Davis ran in circles around her 4-year-old cousin, Zoe. _

"_Zoe, Zoe, Zoe," Brooke sang before sitting down across from the young girl with straight blonde pigtails, "I love it when your family comes to town, Zoe. You're so much fun."_

_Zoe giggled at her older cousin and reached her hands up, signifying that she wanted to be carried. Brooke obeyed and picked the little girl up only to yelp in pain and drop Zoe back on the ground. Zoe broke out in a fit of tears as her parents and Brooke's parents came outside to see what all the fuss was about._

_Zoe's mother, Myrna, picked up the sobbing girl and cradled her until the tears subsided and then turned on Brooke, "What happened? Why did you drop her? You know have you take better care of her!"_

_Brooke, who had tears of her own, replied shrilly, "She bit me!" _

_Myrna glared at Brooke, "My little angel would do no such thing," she turned to Victoria, "I think we'd better be going now. See you in two months at Miranda's wedding."_

_Victoria nodded at her cousin then turned back to her daughter and shook her head disapprovingly before heading back inside the house._

_Brooke ran crying to her bathroom, turning on the water and rinsing the blood off of her hand. When the blood had washed away, she sat on the toilet and examined the deep, skin-splitting teeth marks on the top of her hand._

Brooke barely heard the knock on her door between Angie's cries. She sat the baby on her hip as she opened the door, revealing a medium height muscular blonde with a duffel bag over one shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked, instantly on guard.

The girl answered, "Well, I got kicked out of boarding school…"

Brooke was suddenly irritated, "But what are you doing _here_, Zoe?"

Tears began to prick Zoe's eyes, "I can't go home. Brooke…please. I have nowhere else to go. My parents don't want me there."

Brooke shifted her weight and readjusted Angie, "Well, I don't want you here."

Zoe's body was beginning to be racked by full on sobs, "Brooke! I need your help!" she yelled and then said much more softly, "Please. You know I'm sorry."

Brooke shook her head adamantly, "I can't help you," and she shut the door.

Zoe turned around and faced the street, wiping the tears off her face and running her hands through her hair. She sighed and started walking to wherever her feet would take her, not having anywhere or anyone else to turn to.


	2. Chapter 2

Zoe found herself on the River Court, a place her and Brooke used to walk past on the way to an ice cream stand that was just down the road when they were younger.

All of her pent up rage at the administration for kicking her out of school, at her parents for kicking her out of her house, at her Brooke for not helping her, and at herself for getting herself in the situation to begin with finally pushed Zoe to her limit and she hurled her duffel across the court, screaming as loud as she could, before collapsing to the blacktop of the court and crying.

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming nearer and looked up to see a dark-haired man walking towards her. Zoe stood up and brushed herself off, "Sorry. I'll get off the court."

"No, its okay," he said hurriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Zoe said as she picked up her bag an started to head away from the court.

Something clicked in the man's mind and he called out, "Zoe?"

She slowly turned around and realization dawned on face. "Nathan?" she asked, surprised, "Oh my god. Nathan!" She rushed up to him and wrapped him tightly in a hug.

When they pulled away Nathan looked down at her, "Wow, you got big."

Zoe mocked him, "Wow, you got old."

"How old are you now? 15?"

"Um, 16, actually. I can't believe I'm only in my sophomore year of high school and you're already out of college. We used to take baths together!" Zoe laughed.

Nathan chuckled and went to go sit on a nearby picnic table and Zoe sat down next to him.

After a few moments of silence, Nathan finally asked, "So, why were you crying? What's going on?"

Zoe's face fell and she looked into the distance, not speaking.

Nathan spoke again, "Look, I found you in the middle of the River Court, bawling your eyes out. Now will you please tell me what's wrong?" After Zoe was still silent for a few more moments Nathan continued, "Or at least tell me why you're in town."

She was still staring off into space when she answered, tears curtaining her eyes, "I got kicked out of boarding school," she gave a wry laugh, "And now I have nowhere to go. My parents won't let me go home. They don't want me. And Brooke doesn't want me." She laughed a little and a tear went unnoticed down her cheek.

"So what are you going to do?" Nathan asked.

She laughed again, "I guess I'm going to have to find someone whose life I haven't totally screwed up." Then she added sarcastically, "That'll be easy."

After a few more moments of silence, Nathan said, "You know what? Come live with me. My wife, Haley, is good friends with Brooke and can probably talk some sense into her."

Zoe laughed again, but this time it was a real, hearty laugh, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. You're _married_?"

Nathan smiled and nodded his head, then stood up off the table and reached out his hand to Zoe. She took it and jumped off the table before looking up at him, "Thanks, Nathan. I really am thankful. But can I just ask you one question?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you doing this?"

Nathan looked from Zoe, to the sky, and then back to Zoe again, "Because you never screwed up my life."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, um, look," Nathan said, taking a quick glance at Zoe, then turning back to the road, "I need to stop by at a café in town for a minute. Is that cool?"

Zoe nodded, "Yeah, that's fine."

A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of Erica's Café.

"What is this place?" Zoe asked as she got out of the car.

"Um, this girl I used to go to high school with, Erica Marsh, took over the café that used to be here, Karen's Café. You have to remember it." Nathan explained.

Zoe nodded, "Of course I remember Karen's. Brooke and I used to go there all the time."

Nathan smiled and led Zoe into the café. He brought her over to a table where a tall blonde man was sitting with his back to them.

"Zoe," Nathan started, "This is my brother Lucas." Lucas began to turn around as he heard Nathan's voice, "Lucas, this is…"

"Zoe," Lucas finished for him and then turned his attention to the blonde girl in front of him, "Hey!" He leapt up and gave her a hug, "What are you doing here?"

"Wait a second," Nathan said, confused, "How do you two know each other? Lucas, you weren't friends with Brooke when Zoe used to come around."

"No," Lucas laughed, "Zoe and I used to go to the same summer camp. She was the wisest six-year-old I knew."

Zoe laughed for a moment and then stopped, looking between the brothers, "Wait," she turned to Lucas, "_Nathan_ is your jerk brother?"

"Hey!" Nathan exclaimed, offended.

"You have to admit, you used to be a jerk." Lucas said to Nathan and then turned back to Zoe, beaming as he gave her another hug.

Zoe pulled back after a few minutes and looked at Nathan, "You said your wife's name is Haley. Is that Luke's Haley?"

Nathan nodded with pride.

Zoe turned to Lucas, stunned, "You let Nathan Scott marry our Haley? Really? I'm disappointed."

Lucas just laughed and shrugged and Nathan looked on in puzzlement, "What do you mean "our" Haley? You knew her too?"

Lucas started laughing even harder and choked out, "Who do you think made Haley decide to wait until marriage to have sex?" At that, Zoe started to laugh too.

Nathan, still confused, looked between the two blondes, "I don't get it. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Okay, okay," Lucas said, starting to calm down, "One summer, at camp, Zoe was eight, Haley and I were fourteen, and Zoe was the biggest tease on campus. Not to mention, she looked twelve, so she got with all these older guys and although Haley loved Zoe to death, she didn't want to be anything like her. So she swore to herself that she wouldn't have sex until marriage and just kind of stuck with it."

Nathan nodded in understanding and then as realization hit, he turned to Zoe, completely stunned, "You lost your virginity when you were eight?"

Zoe shrugged with mock innocence and a cheeky smile, "You always knew I was ahead of my time."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everybody. Thanks so much for reading my story. I don't really like the writing all that much. I think I could do a lot better, but as long as you like it, then okay! :D I'll try to make it better next chapter. Enjoy...**

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"Haley! Jamie!" Nathan called into his house from the front door.

Zoe looked to him and mouthed, "Jamie?"

Nathan laughed, "My son."

Her eyes grew wide, "Son? You have a son? Why didn't you tell me you had a son?"

Nathan was about to answer when a voice came from down the hall way, followed by running feet, "Dad!"

Nathan knelt down in expectation as Jamie rounded the corner and into his father's awaiting hands, "Hey, son. Come here. I want you to meet someone."

Jamie turned around to face Zoe, "Hi, I'm James Lucas Scott. What's your name?"

Zoe laughed, looked at Nathan and nodded in approval, then bent down to Jamie's height, "I'm Zoe and I'm an old friend of your dad's. And your mom's."

Jamie smiled a toothy grin, "Momma! Someone's here to see you."

Zoe laughed and then stood back up to wait for Haley to come down the hall. When Haley spotted Nathan, she smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning around in his arms to face Zoe, "Hi, I'm Haley, Nathan's wife."

Zoe just smiled and put her hand out for Haley to shake, "Hi, I'm Zoe. I made you restyle your hair to get Brent Jones to stop picking on you but it only made the teasing worse."

Haley's forehead scrunched in confusion then her eyes widened in realization. She let out a shriek and jumped up and down a few times before leaping forward and dragging Zoe into a tight hug, "Oh my god! Zoe, I haven't seen you since you were ten and Lucas and I stopped going to camp."

Zoe smiled and mimicked Haley's excited voice, "Oh my god! Haley, I haven't seen you since you were sixteen and you and Lucas ditched me at that godforsaken camp."

Haley smiled and hugged Zoe again, "It's good to see your wit only intensified over the years."

Zoe smiled too and then nodded, speaking sincerely, "It's good to see you."

Haley then seemed to realize that Nathan was there and turned to her husband, "How do you two know each other?"

Nathan opened his mouth to speak but Zoe beat him to it, "Brooke Davis is my cousin. I used to hang out with her, Nathan, Peyton, and Tim when I was little. By the way, how is Peyton? I haven't seen her in so long."

At the mention of Peyton, the two adults grew very quiet, not going unnoticed by Zoe.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Nathan shook his head and Haley spoke, "No, no. It's just…Peyton's kind of been in a dark place lately. She's, well, she's in love with Lucas and he just recently almost got married to Lindsay but she left him at the altar after he already said 'I do' so now Peyton thinks there's absolutely no way he would ever go back to her because he was so ready to marry someone else and…"

"Haley, you're rambling," Zoe pointed out with a laugh, "Good to see some things never change," Then she seemed to be hit with a realization, "Wait, Peyton is in love with Lucas? Peyton Sawyer, one of the most popular girls in school, is in love with Lucas Scott, the bookworm dork?"

"Yeah," Haley said, "You know that Lucas always used to like Peyton…"

She was cut off again by Zoe, "No, he was always talking about that girl. Um, what did her call her? Oh, right. P.S. Oh…Haha, Peyton Sawyer. I get it now. Continue."

"Okay, so anyway, Lucas liked Peyton since we were freshmen in high school and then in junior year, after she broke up with Nathan, she started to have a thing for Luke. And then Luke started to date Brooke, and then cheated on Brooke with Peyton. Then Lucas and Brooke dated again, but Brooke broke up with him and he ended up dating Peyton, then he proposed to Peyton and she said no…"

Nathan cut her off, "She said someday."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Fine, Peyton said 'someday' but he took it as a no and left her and then started dating Lindsay, proposed to Lindsay, and was left at the altar by Lindsay a few months ago."

Zoe seemed to soak up all of the new information before she broke out in a huge grin, "Nathan dated Peyton. Peyton dated Lucas. Lucas dated Brooke. It's like a huge circle, except it doesn't reconnect."

Nathan smirked, "Actually it kind of does."

Haley shot Nathan a warning look, "Don't you dare bring that up."

Now Zoe was very interested, "Bring what up?"

Nathan answered before Haley could say anything, "I kind of screwed Brooke."

Zoe's jaw dropped, "Oh my god. So let me get this straight, "You dated Peyton. Peyton dated Lucas. Lucas dated Brooke. And you and Brooke slept together. That's just sick, man. Did you and your brother, like, trade girlfriends?"

Nathan broke out in hysterical laughing as Haley just glared at the two of them playfully, "No, it was more like: Nathan was dating Peyton and then cheated on Peyton with Brooke. Then a year later, Lucas was dating Brooke and cheated on her with Peyton and then dated Brooke again and then dated Peyton. Make sense?"

"Oh yeah, tons," Zoe laughed. Just then her cell phone rang. She looked down at the caller ID and gasped slightly, "Um, I gotta take this."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

Zoe nodded and turned around, taking a few steps away, before answering, "Why are you calling me?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Don't worry, no one knows what happened," a deep male's voice replied.

"Look, I know you helped me out back at school, but, for your sake, we can't be talking like this. You'll get in so much trouble, and I've already caused you enough crap. Just, please, let me go."

"Zoe, they know you got kicked out. They don't know where you went, but it won't take them long to find you, and you know what will happen then. I can't let you go until I know you're safe."

"Derek, I'll be fine."

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**I know this leaves a lot of confusion and unanswered questions, but I promise it will all be sorted out next chapter. And yes, you read that correctly, it's Derek, as in Peyton's real brother.**


	5. Chapter 5

"So, Zoe, not that I don't love that you're staying with us, but why aren't you staying with Brooke?" Haley asked as she stirred her coffee.

Zoe took her coffee mug away from her lips and set it back on the table lightly, "Oh, um, we kind of had a falling out a few years ago. She doesn't really like me anymore."

Haley nodded, understanding that if Zoe wasn't going to go into specifics, then she shouldn't be pressured, "Okay. What are you doing here anyway? I mean, don't you have school?"

"Well, that's another thing. I was kind of kicked out of my boarding school."

"Oh," Haley gasped a little, surprised, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Zoe thought for a moment, "I haven't told anyone the whole story. All my parents know is that I caused a busy day for Homeland Security."

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked, now worried, "Are we housing a fugitive?"

Zoe gave a weak smile, "No. I got kicked out of boarding school, my parents disowned me, the rest of my family pretends not to be related to me. But no, I'm not a fugitive. A man in the army helped me escape charges and blame."

Haley reached forward and gently rubbed the young blonde's arm, "Zoe, can you tell me what happened?"

Zoe, who had been looking down at the counter, lifted her head and Haley saw the tears that had formed in her eyes. Their eyes locked and Haley gave her a nod of approval. Zoe sighed, and started the story, "A few weeks ago some friends and I…"

--

About a half hour later, Zoe finished her story and Haley sat speechless in front of her.

"Haley?" Zoe asked cautiously, "Haley. Please say something."

Haley nodded before she could collect her thoughts and form words, "I promise you that we will keep you as safe as possible from those horrible people. Tree Hill is so off the radar, besides when it comes to basketball, so they'll never find you. And if they do, we'll get you out of here. Peyton's dad works out at sea and a few years ago he helped an old friend, Jake, run away. Also, Jake lives in Savannah and I'm sure he would help if we asked him to. My parents are traveling the country. They could hide you somewhere. Um, Karen is also living on a houseboat with her boyfriend. You have so many options if hiding is what it comes to."

Zoe smiled thankfully at Haley, scooted out of her seat to give Haley a hug, and then walked out the front door. She needed fresh air. After admitting to Haley everything that happened, she couldn't decide whether a weight had been lifted or if three more had been added by including someone else in her semi-dangerous problems.

Haley didn't deserve to be plagued with Zoe's problems and she really didn't want to endanger Nathan or Jamie.

Zoe thought back to her phone call with Derek. He had helped her so much with everything that happened at school. He helped her escape any blame, and in turn helped her escape the dangers that were waiting for her back at school. But he was right: the people who planned on harming her knew she was kicked out so they were bound to go looking for her to finish what they started.

She wished she could go back to a month earlier and change her mind, making sure she didn't agree to go to that party, because that was where everything started. That stupid party. Damn high school and the need for getting drunk and dancing like a stripper. Damn her stupid friends for betting to see who could hook up with the most guys. And most importantly, damn that one guy for giving her the drugs even though she denied them.

But no matter how many people Zoe could blame for what followed the drug abuse, she knew it was really her fault for getting involved in it to begin with. It was her fault and there was nothing she could do about it now.


	6. Chapter 6

**So sorry for the delay. I wasn't sure how I wanted to write Zoe's secret being told, but I decided to just have the entire chapter as a flashback. I'm just warning all of the readers now, I understand that some parts of it aren't very believable, but honestly, that's okay by me. I hope you enjoy it anyways.**

**A side note: In my profile, I have made a section in the bottom of stories that I'm considering for the future. One of them is a sequel to this as a castfic, where Zoe's character actually comes to the show and the actress that plays her stirs up some trouble in her own way. Please go check out the actually summary and let me know what you think!**

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"_Zoe! Zoe, come down here. I want to show you what I'm wearing to the party tonight," a girl yelled up the steps to her bedroom, where Zoe was reading a magazine._

"_Be right down," Zoe yelled back as she finished reading the paragraph and slid off the bed._

_The girl brushed her hair back and checked herself in the mirror to make sure her makeup hadn't smudged. Finally she looked up and noticed Zoe had joined her, "Oh, hey. You know, I still can't believe you're not coming tonight."_

_Zoe shrugged, "I don't know. I just don't feel like getting wasted and having a random screw tonight, you know? I just feel like being a responsible teenager for once, unlike you."_

_The girl smiled and playfully pushed Zoe, "Oh, shut up, Zo. I really think that you should come anyway. You really don't have to drink or hook up with some guy. Just come have fun with me and the girls."_

_Zoe looked over exasperatedly, "Fine, Izzy, but I swear, if I'm not having fun after 20 minutes, I'm leaving."_

_Izzy's smile widened, "Deal. Now go upstairs and get your cute little butt into some sexy as hell jeans, then get your ass back down here so we can go."_

_Zoe laughed on her way upstairs._

_About twenty minutes later, Zoe and Izzy arrived at the party and were met by their friends, Bridget and Natalie._

"_Hey, Zoe, I thought you said you weren't coming," Bridget said as she led the girls to a table._

"_Well, your stupid roommate changed my mind when I was at her house earlier."_

_Bridget laughed, "Yeah, she certainly does have her ways."_

_Just then a cute server appeared at their table, placing down a few rounds of shots, "Drink up ladies. It's on me."_

_Izzy gave him a wink as he headed back to the bar, "He's hot. I call dibs!"_

"_Eh, sorry roomie," Bridget said, "Natalie claimed him before you guys got here."_

_Izzy's jaw dropped, "That's so not fair! If I was here I totally would've called him first. That's cheating." She stuck out her tongue for emphasis letting the other three girls laugh in response._

_Bridget started dividing up the glasses so each girl had the same amount in front of her but Zoe pushed hers back towards the center of the table as she said, "Nah, I'm not drinking tonight."_

_Izzy pushed one glass back in front of her, "C'mon. Just have one. It won't hurt."_

_Zoe gave her a look, but eventually gave in and lifted her hand, threw her head back, and propelled the drink to the back of her throat, swallowing quickly._

_The girl clapped in approval and Natalie spoke up, "Damn, Zo. I wish I could knock 'em back like you."_

_Zoe gave out a light laugh and looked around uncomfortably. She really hadn't wanted to drink that night, but she was known as the Party Queen. Her reputation was not only about how she slept around, but her drinking record as well. She could out-guzzle most of the frat boys that she met at the clubs._

_Izzy pushed another shot glass to her and Zoe just gave her a look. _

"_What? You always drink. What's so different about tonight?" Izzy asked, with a slight edge in her voice._

_Zoe responded with just as much attitude, "What's so different about tonight is that tonight…I don't want to drink. So stop forcing it at me."_

_Izzy leaned back in her chair and put her hands up as if surrendering, "Sorry, girls," she said, speaking mainly to Bridget and Natalie, "But I can't hang out with her if she's going to act like this."_

_Bridget just nodded in agreement and Natalie huffed before saying, "The only reason you even hang out with her in the first place is because her reputation makes you look good. You only like her because she drinks and gets a lot of boys. You just don't want to be seen with her tonight because she's not drinking. God, Izzy, you're such a-"_

"She_ is sitting right here, and _she_ is going to the bathroom," Zoe interrupted then stood and nodded at Natalie in thanks._

_On her way towards the restroom, Zoe was cut off by a tall, skinny redhead who spoke in a condescending voice, "So, Zoe came out to play. Won't all the boys be happy!"_

_Zoe rolled her eyes and took a step away, "What do you want, Becky?"_

_Becky laughed and began to look around before returning her focus to Zoe, "What I _want_ is for you to get your hot ass out of this club."_

_Zoe's forehead scrunched in confusion, "You just kind of complimented me. What's the catch?"_

"_Oh, no catch. Just that you're so much of a slut, no other girl can have a guy when you're around."_

"_And there it is!" Zoe mumbled to herself, before turning around and heading back to the table. When she arrived, Bridget and Izzy looked at her questioningly, so Zoe explained, "As much as I _

_don't want to be with bitches like the two of you, you're much better than having to stay one more second near Becky." With that, she lifted one shot in each hand and downed them, one right after the other._

_The girls cheered, even Natalie, as Party-Zoe was released, and she threw back a few more shots._

"_Hey," Bridget said after a few minutes, waving her arms around, trying to get the girls' attention, "Let's have a competition to see who can hook up with the most guys by the time the party is over."_

_Izzy cheered in appreciation, "Awesome idea! What does the winner get?"_

_Bridget thought for a moment but Zoe cut in, slurring in her drunken state, "Theeeee wiiinner gets to pick ANY guy to gooooo home with tonight. Eeeeven if someone elssssse had eyes on hiiiiim."_

"_Sounds good," Natalie said and reached her hand forward, as did the other girls, so they could shake in agreement._

_Soon after, all four girls found their first victims, and they pounced, seducing them to back corners. The rest is to be imagined._

_About an hour and a half later, the score was Natalie:3, Bridget:5, Izzy:5, and Zoe:7. They regrouped for a few more drinks and then went back out to the dance floor to find some more willing men._

_Zoe spotted a guy that seemed to be about ten years older than her with dark, shaggy hair, and tiger-like green eyes. She approached him, not caring about the gold band on his left, ring finger._

_When he noticed her dancing so close to him, he turned around and grabbed her hips, pulling her back to his chest, and they began to grind on each other._

_After a few moments, Zoe leaned back and whispered in his ear, "Where's the wife?"_

_The man laughed, "At home with the kids. I'm Pierce, by the way."_

_Zoe gave him a coy smile, "Oh, honey. Names really don't matter." She took his hand and led him to a back room._

_As soon as they arrived, he sat down near a coffee table, and took some things out of his pocket. Zoe looked around the room, wondering what he doing that was so much more important than screwing a hot sixteen-year-old. _

_When she looked back, though, she realized the only thing more important is a habit. There, on the coffee table, were two even lines of coke. Pierce leaned back on his haunches and smiled devilishly at her, "C'mon girlie. Give it a snort."_

_Zoe shook her head, "Look, I like sex, not drugs. So can we please just get the sex part?"_

_Pierce laughed, "How could a party girl like yourself not like drugs? It's practically in the job description."_

_Zoe gave a slight nod, "Except this isn't a job, it's a hobby. So do you want to bang, or should I go?"_

_In one swift motion, Pierce reached up and grabbed her arm, yanking her down to his level, and pushing her face towards the table, "Come on, honey. Just one try and then I promise we can fuck."_

_Zoe was scared. A guy had never harassed her before. They were always too caught up in the idea of sex. She nodded, to afraid to do anything else, and he handed her the rolled paper._

_She leaned down and snorted the coke, crying the whole time._

_About a week later, Zoe still hadn't told anyone about what happened at the party. After she snorted the coke, Pierce leaned down to do his line, and she made her escape. She didn't even tell Natalie, Bridget, and Izzy that she was leaving. They just assumed she had gone off with some guy and decided to go home with him._

_Zoe sat silently in her math class, lost in her thoughts, waiting for the teacher to come back from his office. She was forced out of her reverie by two hands shoving her from behind. Looking behind her, Zoe wasn't surprised to see Becky standing there._

"_Becky, I'm really not in the mood right now."_

"_Well, that's too bad," Becky replied in a sweet and deceiving voice._

"_Seriously, not now," Zoe demanded more forcefully._

_Becky backed up, "Okay, okay. Calm yourself down. I just want to talk to you in my room after class. Don't forget."_

_Zoe nodded and gave a fake smile before looking back at her desk._

_After class ended, Zoe reluctantly made her way to Becky's dorm and knocked lightly on the door._

"_Come in!" she heard from inside, and pushed the door open to see Becky sitting on the floor, surrounded in pictures, "So glad you could make. Now, come take a seat. I'd like to show you some of my pictures from my photography class."_

_Zoe was confused but sat down anyway, her curiosity getting the better of her._

"_Okay, here's the first picture. It's from the party last week. See? That's you hooking up with a college boy," Becky pushed a picture towards Zoe._

_Zoe scoffed, "So you have photographic evidence of my indiscretions. What are you gonna do? Show the Dean? He knows what I do…first hand."_

_Becky's nose scrunched in disgust but she quickly recovered and pushed another picture to Zoe, "Does he know about this?"_

_Zoe looked down and almost started to cry, "How did you get this?"_

_Becky gave an evil laugh, "While you were busy blubbering and snorting your sorrows away, I was outside the door with the trusty new camera my dad just bought me."_

_Zoe barely heard a word Becky said. She was too shocked by pictures in front of her. She had wanted so much to forget about that night, and now she was being forced to look right at it._

_Becky continued with her speech, "Now, if my information is correct, you're here on scholarship, and I also happen to know that the one thing this school has no tolerance for is drug and alcohol abuse."_

_Zoe's head shot up, "Please, you can't show this to anyone. I'll do anything to keep this from getting out."_

_Becky smiled wickedly, "Anything?"_

_Zoe nodded eagerly._

"_Okay," Becky said as she reached back and pulled a phone to sit between the two girls, "I'd really like you to call in a bomb threat to the school."_

"_What?" Zoe laughed incredulously, "That's ridiculous. I'd rather be caught doing drugs."_

"_Oh really?" Becky said, reaching behind her again, "Or would you rather be dead?" Suddenly, a knife blade was against Zoe's throat and Becky was leaning dangerously close, "Your choice."_

_Zoe scrunched her eyes shut, as if trying to believe this wasn't happening, but she knew it was all real as soon she heard the cocking of a gun behind her and the cold barrel being pressed against _

_the back of her head. She glanced behind her to see Becky's best friend standing there, a smile matching Becky's adorning her face._

_Zoe closed her eyes again as she spoke, "Okay, I'll do it. I'll make the call."_

_The gun and knife were lowered at her words and the phone was pushed closer. She looked warily between the two girls and picked up the phone, dialing, and threatening the school._

_As soon as she hung up, Zoe looked up to Becky, "Can I please go now?"_

_Becky put her forefinger to her chin and looked up to the ceiling, as if thinking, "Nah, I think we're going to kill you now."_

"_What?!" Zoe exclaimed, "You said it was a choice."_

"_Well," Becky's friend spoke, "She lied."_

_Tears began to stream down Zoe's face as she felt the gun being pressed against her head again. Just as the girl was about to pull the trigger, a knock came on the door, and the gun was quickly dropped to the ground and kicked under the bed._

_The door was kicked open and men dressed in military suits barged in, one grabbing each girl, as another stood in the middle, speaking, "A bomb threat as been posed on the school. We are evacuating. You must leave. NOW!"_

_The three girls were shoved out of the room and down the hallway, to the outside of building. Becky and her friend were guided off in one direction, but Zoe grabbed hold of the soldier's arm and yanked him in the other._

"_Listen, miss, I have to get you to safety."_

_Zoe shook her head, "I'm not safe with them. I need to tell someone what's happening."_

_The soldier agreed and took Zoe to a more secluded area of the campus, where he introduced himself as Derek Sommers and she told him the entire story, starting with the party, and ending just before he broke down the door to Becky's dorm room._

_Derek helped Zoe to safety, away from Becky and the danger that was waiting back at school._

_That's how Zoe ended up in Tree Hill, to be spurned by her cousin, and rescued by an old friend._

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**I know that in a way this might seem like a final chapter, but I promise that it's not. There's still a loooooooong way to go. This is just the beginning.**

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	7. Author's Note

**After receiving absolutely no reviews on Chapter Six and only one for Chapter Five I have decided to put this story on Temporary Hiatus until I decide to come back to it. I really like this idea but I have many more stories I would like to write before I waste my time on a story no one will read. **

**This story was fun for the time being but I feel it is time to move on to something else.**

**I am sorry to anyone who is a fan.**

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